Interesting Article: "Four men admit London Stock Exchange bomb plot" by BBC News / London published Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
An interesting article mentioned that four men inspired by al-Qaeda have admitted planning to detonate a bomb at the London Stock Exchange. The men, from London and Cardiff, were arrested in December 2010 and were set to stand trial. It emerged that those who admitted planning to target the London Stock Exchange wanted to send five mail bombs to various targets during the run up to Christmas 2010 and discussed launching a "Mumbai-style" atrocity. Would you like to know more?
A hand-written target list discovered at the home of one of the men listed the names and addresses of London Mayor Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the US embassy and the Stock Exchange. The conspiracy was stopped by undercover anti-terror police before firm dates could be set for attacks. The terrorists met because of their membership of various radical groups and stayed in touch over the internet, through mobile phones and at specially arranged meetings. They gathered in parks in a bid to make surveillance difficult. The men admitted the offences after a special hearing which allows a defendant to hear from the judge what sentence they may receive if they plead guilty on the eve of a trial. At the end of 2010 two of them scouted high profile targets in London and discussed with others the possibility of blowing up the London Stock Exchange. Others talked about putting bombs in the post, even suggesting one be hidden in a toy doll. In East London, Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, the ring leader, and Shah Rahman, 29, were under surveillance as they toured central London sites for six hours between 3.30pm and 9.30pm on November 28 2010. They got off a bus in Trafalgar Square and walked along Whitehall towards Westminster. They were observed looking at Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Blackfriars Bridge and the Church of Scientology on Queen Victoria Street. After visiting a McDonalds restaurant on Cannon Street in the City of London, the two men boarded a bus back towards East London. The three groups were inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who died in a drone attack last year. Meetings took place in November and December 2010 at which the defendants planned to use explosive devices to attack significant locations in London and around the country. Mohibur Rahman, 27, from Stoke pleaded guilty to possession of a document containing information useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism. The charges relate to two editions of al-Qaeda’s English language Inspire magazine. The men from Stoke got as far as pondering the logistical problems of religiously observant Muslims planting bombs in pub toilets. And they were surveillance-aware too, warning each other about the possibility of bugs in their cars, and meeting outdoors in secluded places like country parks. No explosive materials were bought - and no bombs planted. But that may have been different had they not been arrested.
References:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/9053681/Terrorists-admit-plot-to-bomb-London-Stock-Exchange-and-US-Embassy.html
An interesting article mentioned that four men inspired by al-Qaeda have admitted planning to detonate a bomb at the London Stock Exchange. The men, from London and Cardiff, were arrested in December 2010 and were set to stand trial. It emerged that those who admitted planning to target the London Stock Exchange wanted to send five mail bombs to various targets during the run up to Christmas 2010 and discussed launching a "Mumbai-style" atrocity. Would you like to know more?
A hand-written target list discovered at the home of one of the men listed the names and addresses of London Mayor Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the US embassy and the Stock Exchange. The conspiracy was stopped by undercover anti-terror police before firm dates could be set for attacks. The terrorists met because of their membership of various radical groups and stayed in touch over the internet, through mobile phones and at specially arranged meetings. They gathered in parks in a bid to make surveillance difficult. The men admitted the offences after a special hearing which allows a defendant to hear from the judge what sentence they may receive if they plead guilty on the eve of a trial. At the end of 2010 two of them scouted high profile targets in London and discussed with others the possibility of blowing up the London Stock Exchange. Others talked about putting bombs in the post, even suggesting one be hidden in a toy doll. In East London, Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, the ring leader, and Shah Rahman, 29, were under surveillance as they toured central London sites for six hours between 3.30pm and 9.30pm on November 28 2010. They got off a bus in Trafalgar Square and walked along Whitehall towards Westminster. They were observed looking at Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Blackfriars Bridge and the Church of Scientology on Queen Victoria Street. After visiting a McDonalds restaurant on Cannon Street in the City of London, the two men boarded a bus back towards East London. The three groups were inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who died in a drone attack last year. Meetings took place in November and December 2010 at which the defendants planned to use explosive devices to attack significant locations in London and around the country. Mohibur Rahman, 27, from Stoke pleaded guilty to possession of a document containing information useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism. The charges relate to two editions of al-Qaeda’s English language Inspire magazine. The men from Stoke got as far as pondering the logistical problems of religiously observant Muslims planting bombs in pub toilets. And they were surveillance-aware too, warning each other about the possibility of bugs in their cars, and meeting outdoors in secluded places like country parks. No explosive materials were bought - and no bombs planted. But that may have been different had they not been arrested.
References:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/9053681/Terrorists-admit-plot-to-bomb-London-Stock-Exchange-and-US-Embassy.html
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